So the bar was really a non-event, not to say it was not a thrill ride, but we have had a bar crossing or two so we knew what to expect- steep waves that try to break in your face and that stomach drop as they roll under. Papillon is a bit of a beast and handles seas well; though the engine is puny we did fine.

Within an hour or so we had sails up and since Waiarua was within a half mile of us, we had a race, as there always is when two sailboats are within sight of each other. Not saying there was a clear winner , but I do have pictures of Waiarua from astern as we started and from the bow as we started to separate----- jes’ sayin’ LOL.

And as the day wore on they hung right with us for quite a while and as night came on they were maybe a mile astern- then the first night of storms started. Cats and dogs does not even come close to what the rainfall was, maybe if those animals were put in a grinder and fired at us from a water cannon, for hours on end. That might come close, and then you have to throw in the added thrill of lightning- lots and lots of lightning. Really does freak a person out. Funny thing was- my biggest worry in all of the twists and turns we were taking trying to keep steerage was running into Waiarua! I did give them a radio call in the morning and yes, they had fun as well.

One thing we have done on Papillon is to make the cockpit as comfortable as possible with keeping ventilation a priority, this means you will get wet, no bones about it you will get wet. One cool thing we have found though- the shade screens that Jeanne Brown made for us in La Paz also work great at breaking up the firehose stream of tropical rain into a fine mist. And this rain is warm, I was completely comfortable sitting there soaking wet for the 6 plus hours on my watch, which is coincidentally the same amount of time the storms last.

Yes storms- this happened on day two as well. Pretty much a carbon copy day, a little sluggish to start then awesome sailing followed by six to eight hours of pooh weather.

Day three boded well, we hooked up a huge dorado- close to 5 foot- but since we didn’t have refrigeration to speak of yet, we let the big bull go. And it was also different in that we had really no decent sailing winds to start with.

Of course this leads to needing to motor and that leads to engine repairs, replaced the raw water pump and found and tried to fix a small leak, sigh, boat chores.

Something new to add to the list.
We motor through the night and keep the speed down for us to arrive at a decent time and that gets very boring. Dodging long line Pescadores and trolling fishing boats did occupy a little time and required more than a little mental agility.

We arrive at Marina Papagayo and the sheer beauty of this place is stunning. While we were greeted right away by the marina staff, we were a quarantine boat and had to stay aboard until the officials did their official thing which led to six people crowded around the cockpit table, throwing stamps and signatures at each other like there was no tomorrow, with Kelly having to stand in the companionway while all of the time the two of us being treated with the utmost respect as co-Captains of the vessel. Kelly got to give the tour as we were inspected for guns, drugs, and/or pets. All said and done- with officials actually breaking down to wanting cell pics taken onboard and card swaps accomplished

There was one thing left, a visit to the Aduana (customs) office. This was a tricky thing as the rules require a valid Coast Guard document for the duration of your stay and we are waiting for the hard copy to arrive. All is cool though, one of the officials that was way into having the pictures taken was Aduana, so when we arrived at the Liberia airport to pick up our cruising permit, there it was – all 90 days’ worth!

So we are now just chilling after the run here, not an easy one, but not that bad really. I am trashed though and trying to stay awake as late as I can after having to stand night watches. This shift change thing is hard. Kelly helps so much in making our boat our home and she has been working all day at putting it back together so she is a bit trashed as well.